Process for producing a triglyceride

ABSTRACT

A process for the production of a composition comprising 1,3-dioleyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO) comprises subjecting a palm oil stearin, with an iodine value (IV) between about 2 and about 12 to enzymic transesterification, with oleic acid or a non-glyceride ester thereof.

This invention relates to a process. In particular, the inventionrelates to a process for the production of the triglyceride1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (also referred to as OPO).

Triglycerides are important components of many products, especially foodproducts. The triglyceride 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride is animportant glyceride component of human milk fat.

Fat compositions containing similar amounts of the principal fatty acidsfound in human milk fat may be derived from oils and fats of vegetableorigin. However, there remains a significant difference in compositionbetween milk replacement fats, derived from natural sources, and that ofhuman milk fat. This difference arises because most glycerides ofvegetable origin are unsaturated in the 2-position. In contrast, asubstantial amount of palmitic acid occupies the 2-position ofglycerides in human milk fat.

The difference in the distribution of acids along the glyceridepositions is believed to have important dietary consequences. Thedistribution of fatty acids in the triglycerides of some milk fats ofnutritional importance was studied by Freeman et al, (J. Dairy Sci.,1965, p. 853), who reported that human milk fat contains a greaterproportion of palmitic acid in the 2-position, and a greater proportionof stearic acid and oleic acid in the 1,3-positions than the milk fat ofruminants. The greater absorption of palmitic acid in the 2-position oftriglycerides by infants was reported by Filer et al (J. Nutrition, 99,pp. 293-298), who suggest that the relatively poor absorption of butterfat by infants compared with human milk fat is attributable to itssubstantially uniform distribution of palmitic acid between theglyceride positions of the fat.

In order to most closely match the chemical and/or physical propertiesof triglyceride fats or oils obtained from natural sources, to that ofhuman milk fat, therefore, it is necessary to control the distributionof the fatty acid residues on the glyceride positions.

EP-A-0209327 discloses milk replacement fat compositions comprising thetriglyceride 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO). According toEP-A-0209327, these fat compositions can be obtained by subjecting fattymixtures comprising glycerides consisting substantially of moresaturated 2-palmitoyl glycerides to a rearrangement catalyst, such as alipase, which is regiospecific in activity in the 1- and 3-positions ofthe glycerides. Enzymatic processes of this kind are also described inGB 1577933. Under the influence of the catalyst, unsaturated fatty acidresidues may be introduced into the 1- and 3-positions of the2-palmitoyl glycerides by exchange with unsaturated free fatty acids ortheir alkyl esters.

WO 2005/036987 discloses a process for producing a fat base by reactinga palmitic rich oil with unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid. Thetotal palmitic acid residue content of the fat base is at most 38% andat least 60% of the fatty acid moieties are in the 2-position of theglyceride backbone. A related disclosure can be found in WO 2005/037373,filed on the same day.

A process for producing OPO is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,658,768. The process involves a further enzymic conversion to reducethe level of trisaturates in the composition.

EP-A-0882797 describes a process for producing ABA triglycerides using a1,3-specific enzyme, under controlled conditions of water activity.

A selective process for producing OPO triglycerides is disclosed inSchmid et al, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, vol 64, no 6, 1999,679-684. The synthesis of OPO from palm oil is described in Ming-Jung etal, JAOCS, vol 81, no 6, 2004, 525-532. In both cases, the OPO wassynthesised from tripalmitin (PPP).

There remains a need to provide a more efficient process for theproduction of 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO).

The present invention provides a process for the production of acomposition comprising 1,3-dioleyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO), whereinthe process comprises subjecting a palm oil stearin, with an iodinevalue (IV) between about 2 and about 12 to enzymic transesterification,with oleic acid or a non-glyceride ester thereof (such as an alkyl esterof oleic acid with an alcohol having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms).

In one embodiment, the process of the invention comprises:

-   (i) providing a palm oil stearin comprising tripalmitoyl glyceride    and having an iodine value of between about 2 and about 12;-   (ii) optionally bleaching and deodorising the palm oil stearin;-   (iii) subjecting the palm oil stearin to enzymic transesterification    with oleic acid or a non-glyceride ester thereof,-   (iv) separating palmitic acid or palmitic non-glyceride esters from    the product obtained in (iii); and-   (v) optionally dry fractionating the product obtained in (iv) to    form a fraction comprising an increased amount of OPO.

The process of the invention aims to increase the amount of OPO formedin the product of the process. A further aim of the process is anincrease in the nutritional quality of the product

Unexpectedly, it has been found that the process does not work well whenpalm oil stearin having a higher purity in tripalmitoyl glyceride (suchas that having an iodine value (IV) of less than 1) is used. Withoutwishing to be bound by theory, the inventors believe that this might bedue to poor enzymic transesterification, possibly due to enzymeinhibition. Surprisingly, however, it has been found that good resultsare achieved using palm oil stearin that is less pure in tripalmitoylglyceride and has an iodine value of typically between 2 and 12,preferably between 3 and 11, more preferably between 4 and 11, inparticular between 6 and 11, such as from 8 to 10, or between 8 and 10.Iodine value is determined according to standard methods known in theart (e.g., ASTM D5554-95 (2001)).

The quality of the OPO composition can be determined from the carbonnumber of the constituent triglycerides in the composition. The reactantglyceride for the process is PPP, having a carbon number of 48 (C48),the product OPO has a carbon number of 52 and OPP and 000 have carbonnumbers of 50 and 54, respectively. It is desirable to minimise the OOO,PPP and OPP levels in the product, whilst maximising the amount of OPO.The presence of palmitoyl groups (i.e., palmitic acid residues) in the2-position of the glyceride is particularly important. However, indetermining the quality of the product, it is necessary to take intoaccount the known poor digestibility of 1- and 3-palmitoyl glycerides,such as PPP and OPP. Thus, the quality of the product can be expressedby multiplying the amount of triglycerides other than C54 i.e., (100−54)by the ratio of total (C48+C50+C52) to ((3×C48)+(2×C50)+(C52)), whichincludes a factor for the number of palmitoyl residues in thetriglyceride, and/or by the amount of palmitic acid residues in the2-position of the glyceride.

The composition or faction produced by the process of the inventionpreferably has a value for the ratio:(100−C54)×[(C48+C50+C52)/(3C48+2C50+C52)]of greater than 50, more preferably from 52 to 60, such as from 53 to59, or from 54 to 58, or 55 to 57, or 56 to 57. The carbon numbers, C48to C54, are preferably determined by the method set out in the examples.

A suitable source of tripalmitoyl glyceride (PPP) for use in the processof the invention is palm oil stearin. Palm oil typically contains up to12% by weight trisaturated acid glycerides including tripalmitoylglyceride (PPP; also referred to as tripalmitin). Palm oil stearin maycontain 4 parts tripalmitin and 1 part of symmetrical disaturatedtriglycerides, by weight Preferably, therefore, the palm oil stearinused in part (i) of the process is provided by fractionating palm oil ora derivative thereof. The palm oil stearin preferably has a palmiticacid content of at least 60% by weight, more preferably at least 70% byweight, such as at least 75%, at least 80% or at least 85% by weighte.g., at least 90% by weight, based on the total fatty acid residuecontent.

The palm oil stearin used in step (i) of the process of the presentinvention may be obtained from solvent (wet) fractionation, Lanzafractionation, or dry fractionation of palm oil, such as multi-stagecounter current dry fractionation of palm oil. The palm oil can be crudepalm oil, refined palm oil, fractions of palm oil (e.g., obtained by dryfractionation), other derivatives of palm oil, or mixtures thereof.

The palm oil stearin used in step (i), preferably comprises 2-palmitoylglycerides, typically in an amount of greater than 50% by weight, suchas greater than 55% by weight or greater than 60% by weight.

The palm oil stearin has an iodine value (IV) of between about 2 andabout 12, preferably between about 4 and about 11, more preferablybetween about 6 and about 11, such as from about 8 to about 10.

Before the palm oil stearin is subjected to enzymic esterification, thepalm oil stearin is typically refined in optional step (ii), whichpreferably involves bleaching and deodorising. The bleaching of the palmoil stearin in the process of the invention is performed above 95° C.,more preferably above 100° C. (such as at from 105° C. to 120° C.). Inthe deodorising step, volatile impurities are removed from the palm oilstearin to yield deodorised palm oil stearin, typically at temperaturesabove 200° C. The impurities removed in the deodorising step commonlyinclude free fatty acids, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols and otherhydrocarbon impurities. The bleaching and deodorising are performedunder standard conditions known in the art and may be carried out in asingle process step or two or more process steps. For example, the stepsmay be carried out at reduced pressures (e.g., 10 mm Hg or below),wherein the palm oil stearin is contacted with steam to help vaporisethe impurities. Bleaching and deodorising the palm oil stearin may helpto improve the yield of the process.

The term “stearin”, as used in this specification, includes atriglyceride mixture or fat blend from which at least 10% by weight ofthe lower melting constituents have been removed by some kind offractionation, e.g., dry fractionation, Lanza fractionation or solventfractionation. Correspondingly, the term olein refers to a triglyceridemixture or fat blend from which at least 10% by weight of the highermelting constituents have been removed by some kind of fractionation,e.g., dry fractionation, Lanza fractionation or solvent fractionation.

The terms fatty acid, fatty acyl groups, and related terms used hereinrefer to saturated or unsaturated, straight chain carboxylic acidshaving from 4 to 24 carbon atoms, preferably from 12 to 22 carbon atoms.Unsaturated acids may comprise one, two, or more double bonds,preferably one or two double bonds.

The term alkyl as used herein, refers to straight chain or branchedsaturated hydrocarbons having from 1 to 6 carbon atoms.

The enzymic transesterification according to the process of the presentinvention is preferably carried out using a 1,3 specific lipase as abiocatalyst. In the enzymic transesterification, the fatty acids on the2-position of the triglycerides typically do not change (for example,less than 10% by moles of fatty acyl groups in the 2-position, morepreferably less than 5%, such as less than 1%, change during theprocess).

Under the influence of a 1,3 lipase, unsaturated fatty acid residues maybe introduced into the 1- and 3-positions of the 2-palmitoyl glyceridesby exchange with the fatty acid residues of other glycerides or morepreferably by means of transesterification in the fatty mixture.Exchange preferably takes place between unsaturated free fatty acids,preferably oleic acid, or alkyl esters of oleic acid with alcoholshaving from 1 to 6 carbon atoms. The 2-palmitoyl glycerides modified inthis way may be separated from the reaction mixture.

The enzymic transesterification reaction in the process of the presentinvention selectively exchanges palmitic acid with oleic acid on the1,3-position rather than the 2-position. The transesterificationreaction is typically performed to reach or approach equilibrium at aconversion ratio of a minimum of at least 50%, preferably at least 60%,most preferably at least 70%.

Preferably, in the transesterification reaction, the palm oil stearinis, for example, mixed with an oleic acid concentrate (comprising freeoleic acid at a concentration of greater than 65% by weight, preferablygreater than 70% by weight, most preferably greater than 75% by weight).Alternatively, the oleic acid may be provided as a mixture comprisingoleic acid (preferably in an amount of greater than 65% by weight),linoleic acid and, optionally, one or more other fatty acids. The ratioof palm oil stearin to oleic acid concentrate is preferably from 0.1:1to 2:1, more preferably from 0.4:1 to 1.2:1, even more preferably from0.4:1 to 1:1, most preferably from 1:1.1 to 1:2 on a weight basis. Thereaction is preferably carried out at a temperature of from 30° C. to90° C., preferably from 50° C. to 80° C., such as about 60° C. to 70°C., and may be conducted batchwise or in continuous fashion, with orwithout a water-immiscible organic solvent.

Before the enzyme transesterification reaction, the humidity ispreferably controlled to a water activity between 0.05 and 0.55,preferably between 0.1 and 0.5, depending on the type of biocatalystenzyme system used. The reaction may be performed, for example, at 60°C. in a stirred tank or in a packed bed reactor over biocatalysts, basedon concentrates of Lipase D (Rhizopus oryzae, previously classified asRhizopus delemar, from Amano Enzyme Inc., Japan) or immobilisedconcentrates of Rhizomucor miehei (Lipozyme RM IM from Novozymes A/S,Denmark).

In order to separate palmitic acid and other fatty acids or palmiticnon-glyceride esters and other glycerides from OPO in (iv), thetransesterified mixture (optionally after further treatment, such asisolation of the fat phase) is preferably distilled. Distillation ispreferably carried out at low pressure (e.g., lower than 10 mbar) andelevated temperatures (e.g., greater than 200° C.) to remove the fattyacids from the product triglyceride fraction.

The composition obtained in (iv) is preferably fractionated in (v) torecover an olein fraction (i.e., a lower melting fraction). This can bedone using solvent fractionation, Lanza fractionation or dryfractionation, using a single, two-step or multi-step fractionationtechnique, but is preferably carried out using single step dryfractionation. The olein can also be obtained by subjecting thetransesterified mixture to multistage counter current dry fractionation.

Fractionation of the triglyceride fraction removes the unconvertedtripalmitin (PPP) down to a level of less than 15 weight %, preferablyless than 10 weight %, most preferably less than 8 weight %. The oleinfraction, obtained after step (v), is typically further refined orpurified to remove all remaining fatty acids and contaminants to producea refined olein fraction.

Surprisingly, it has been found that using a palm oil stearin having aniodine value within the range of the invention may mean that the furtherfractionation of the product in (v) is unnecessary for a satisfactoryproduct.

The process may optionally comprise further steps before, between orafter (i) to (v), such as partial purification or enrichment of theproducts in the desired component(s).

The composition obtained after (iv) or the fraction comprising anincreased amount of OPO glyceride obtained after (v) in the process ofthe invention preferably comprises at least 10% by weight OPO, morepreferably at least 15%, even more preferably at least 20%, such as atleast 25% or 30% or even 40% by weight OPO based on total glycerides inthe fraction. The balance typically comprises other non-OPOtriglycerides, and may further contain minor amounts of diglycerides andmonoglycerides. Minor amounts of free fatty acids may also be present.The fraction is preferably a composition which comprises a mixture oftriglycerides wherein different fatty acid residues, includingunsaturated fatty acid residues, are randomly distributed between the 1-and 3-positions and at least half of the fatty acid residues in the2-positions are C16 and/or C18 saturated, preferably consistingsubstantially of palmitic acid residues, in particular 60-90% by weightof the total 2-position fatty acids are preferably palmitic acid.Preferably, all of the fatty acid residues, or virtually all (e.g.,greater than 99% by weight), in the glycerides of the composition areeven-numbered. The unsaturated fatty acid residues in the 1- and3-positions preferably consist largely of oleic acid and linoleic acid.The compositions preferably includes at least as much (on a molar basis)of saturated fatty acid in the 2-position as in the 1- and 3-positionscombined, more preferably up to twice as much (on a molar basis).Preferably, the 1,3-positions include both unsaturated C18 and saturatedC4 to C14 fatty acids.

The proportion and type of these fatty acids may be determined inaccordance with dietary and physical requirements of the compositionrequired. For example, milk replacement fats should be capable ofemulsification at blood heat in liquid feed and should thereforepreferably be capable of being melted at this temperature (37° C.). Themelting point of fats is determined by their fatty acid composition,which may be selected accordingly. Fats with the correct fatty acidcomposition may be selected for use in the present invention, therefore,with a view to producing fat compositions with certain desired physicalcharacteristics.

The most preferred compositions produced by the present invention arethose comprising triglycerides having at least 40%, more preferably atleast 45%, such as at least 50% by weight palmitic acid present in the2-position of the glyceride, based on the weight of total fatty acidresidues present. Additionally or alternatively, the compositions maycomprise less than 8% by weight SSS glycerides (wherein S representssaturated fatty acid having at least 18 carbon atoms, preferably 18carbon atoms) based on total weight of triglycerides, and at least 40%by weight oleic acid residues in the 1- and 3-positions, based on theweight of total fatty acid residues present.

It is preferred that the fat composition produced by the process of theinvention has palmitic acid groups at the 2-position of the glyceride(an “SN-2 value”) in an amount of at least 50%, more preferably at least52%, even more preferably at lerast 53%, such as at least 54% or atleast 55% or at least 56%. An SN-2 value of x % means that of the totalpalmitic acid residues in the glyceride, x % (by weight or moles) are inthe 2-position and (100−x) % of the palmitic acid residues aredistributed between the 1- and 3-positions of the glyceride. This valueis preferably determined as described in the method set out in Example2.

The composition obtained by the process of the present inventioncontains preferably less than 10% by weight 1,2,3-trisaturatedglycerides, preferably less than 8% by weight 1,2,3-trisaturatedglycerides.

The invention may comprise an additional step of further purifying theproduct in OPO.

The process of the present invention may, additionally or alternatively,comprise the further step (vi) of blending the OPO fraction with otherfats and/or oils, preferably with at least one vegetable oil, to form afat blend. Suitable fats are fats comprising: up to 40% by weight ofmedium-chain triglycerides; up to 30% by weight of lauric fats; up to50% by weight of other vegetable fats; or up to 40 wt % of butterfat; orfractions or mixtures of these fats. In particular, lauric fats,preferably palm kernel oil, may be included in the compositions toprovide blends aiming to match the compositions of milk fat or itsmelting characteristics, and/or vegetable oils such as sunflower oil,high oleic sunflower oil, palm kernel oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil,coconut oil, high oleic safflower oil which have a high content ofpolyunsaturated fatty acid glycerides, which improve the dietary benefitof the compositions, may be included. In this way, the compositionsproduced by the process of the invention preferably provide blendsmatching the composition of milk fat or its melting characteristics. Theresulting blends preferably have a Solid Content Index measured byNMR-pulse on non stabilised fats are within the following ranges:NO=35-55; N10=25-50 and N30</=10. These values were preferably obtainedby melting the fat at 80° C., holding the fat at 60° C. or higher for atleast 10 minutes, cooling to 0° C. and holding the fat at 0° C. for 16hours, heating the fat to the measurement temperature N and holding thefat at that temperature for 30 minutes before measuring the N value.

The fat compositions or fat blends produced by the process of theinvention are suitable for replacing at least a part of the fat ininfant food formulations. The present invention also therefore providesfor a method for the production of infant food compositions comprisingfat, protein and carbohydrate components in the approximate relativeweight proportions 2.5:1:5, wherein at least a part of the fat normallyused in such formulations is replaced by the fat composition or fatblend made in accordance with the present invention. Dry formulationscontaining this mixture, together with additional components customaryin such formulations, should be dispersed for use in sufficient water toproduce an emulsion of approximately 3½ grams of fat per 100 ml ofdispersion. Therefore, in another aspect, the invention provides amethod of producing an infant food formulation by pang and labelling thecomposition comprising OPO triglyceride obtained after step (v) or step(vi) of the process.

The following non-limiting examples illustrate the invention and do notlimit its scope in any way. In the examples and throughout thisspecification, all percentages, parts and ratios are by weight unlessindicated otherwise.

EXAMPLES Example 1

a) Production of a Refined Olein Fraction

Palm oil stearin was produced by dry or solvent fractionation of palmoil to create a fraction with a palmitic acid concentration higher than78% and an iodine value lower than 14 meqO₂/kg (IV=14).

The palm oil stearin was physically refined (bleached and deodorised).After refining, the palm oil stearin was mixed with an oleic acidconcentrate (C18:1 concentration >75%). The ratio of palm oil stearin tooleic acid concentrate was between 1.2 to 2 on weight basis. The mixingratio was determined by the activity of the enzymes, the quality of thepalm oil stearin and the quality of the oleic acid (concentration ofpalmitic and oleic acids).

Before reaction, the humidity was controlled carefully at a wateractivity between 0.1 and 0.5, depending on the type of biocatalystenzyme system used. The reaction was performed at 60° C. in a stirredtank or in a packed bed reactor over biocatalysts, based on concentratesof Lipase D (Rhizopus oryzae, previously classified as Rhizopus delemar,from Amano Enzyme Inc., Japan) or immobilised concentrates of Rhizomucormiehei (Lipozyme RM IM from Novozymes A/S, Denmark). The enzymictransesterification reaction selectively exchanges palmitic acid witholeic acid on the 1,3-position rather than the 2-position. The reactionwas performed to reach an approach to equilibrium of a minimum of 70%exchange.

After reaction, the fatty acids were removed from the producttriglyceride fraction by distillation at low pressure (<10 mbar) andelevated temperatures (>200° C.). The triglyceride fraction was dryfractionated to remove the unconverted tripalmitines down to a level ofmaximum 6 weight %. The olein fraction was fully refined to remove allremaining fatty acids and contaminants to produce a refined OPOcomposition.

b) Preparation of Human Milk Fat Replacer

The base olein fraction was mixed with a number of vegetable oils (rapeseed, corn oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, sunflower oil) to producea mixture with a similar fatty acid composition as human milk fat.

Example 2

Acidolysis of various palm oil stearin (POS) fractions having differentiodine values (IV) was performed over immobilised Lipase D as catalystat a water activity of 0.3 to 0.4 at 60° C. in a packed bed reactor toapproach 90% equilibrium, using an oleic acid to POS-ratio of 1.2 to1.6. C48 to C54 levels were determined by capillary gas chromatographyaccording to method AOCS Ce 5-86 “Triglycerides by GC”. The results wereas follows:

POS IV-4 POS IV-8 POS IV-10 POS IV-12 IV 3.8 8.6 10 11.6 FeedcompositionC48 73.6 69.7 69.0 63.3 C50 18.2 20.2 19.5 23.7 C52 3.0 5.7 6.4 8.1 C541.3 1.3 1.8 1.9

The product after acidolysis had the following composition:

Composition POS IV-4 POS IV-8 POS IV-10 POS IV-12 C48 20.8 12.8 9.2 8.5C50 40.6 37.5 35.6 33.8 C52 31.8 39.8 44.3 44.5 C54 5.3 8.8 9.8 11.6SN-2* 49 53 57 52 (100-C54) 50.32 53.64 56.16 55.76 *(C48 + C50 + C52)/(3*C48 + 2*C50 + C52) *percentage of palmitic acid residues in the2-position, determined by finding: (a) the total C16:0 content of thefat by FAME (surface internal standard C17:0); and (b) the C16:0 contentof the 2-position by FAME (same standard) of a sample of the fat afterhydrolysis of the 1- and 3-residues using pancreatic lipase to form a2-monoglyceride. The SN-2 value is ((b) × 100)/((a) × 3).

The product was fractionated at about 35° C. The fractionated producthad the following composition:

Composition POS IV-4 POS IV-8 POS IV-10 POS IV-12 C48 8.1 5.4 Notfurther 7.4 C50 44.2 38.5 fractionated 34.6 C52 39.8 44.9 due to quality45.1 C54 6.6 10.3 of product 11.5 SN-2 55 56 55

The invention claimed is:
 1. A process for the production of acomposition comprising 1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl glyceride (OPO), whereinthe process comprises subjecting a palm oil stearin, with an iodinevalue (IV) between about 8 and about 11 12 to enzymictransesterification, with oleic acid or a non-glyceride ester thereof.2. A The process as claimed in claim 1 comprising: (i) providing a palmoil stearin comprising tripalmitoyl glyceride; (ii) optionally bleachingand deodorising the palm oil stearin; (iii) subjecting the palm oilstearin to enzymic transesterification with oleic acid or anon-glyceride ester thereof; (iv) separating palmitic acid or palmiticnon-glyceride esters from the product obtained in (iii) to form acomposition comprising OPO glyceride; and (v) optionally dryfractionating the product obtained in (iv) to form a fraction comprisingan increased amount of OPO.
 3. A The process according to claim 1 orclaim 2, wherein the palm oil stearin is provided by fractionating palmoil or a derivative thereof.
 4. A The process according to claim 3,wherein the palm oil stearin is provided by the dry fractionation ofpalm oil.
 5. A The process according to claim 1, further comprising thestep of blending the composition of (iv) or the fraction of (v) with atleast one vegetable oil.
 6. A The process according to claim 5, whereinthe vegetable oil is selected from sunflower oil, high oleic sunfloweroil, palm kernel oil, rapeseed oil and soybean oil.
 7. A The processaccording to claim 1, wherein the composition or fraction comprises atleast 50 wt % of palmitic acid residues present in the 2-position of theglyceride, based on the weight of total fatty acid residues present inthe 2-position of the glyceride, less than 8% by weight SSS glycerides(wherein S represents saturated fatty acid having at least 18 carbonatoms) based on total weight of triglycerides, and at least 40% byweight oleic acid residues in the 1 and 3 positions, based on the weightof total fatty acid residues present in the 1 and 3 positions.
 8. A Theprocess according to claim 1, wherein the composition or fractioncomprises less than about 8 weight % of trisaturated glycerides.
 9. AThe process according to claim 1, wherein the palm oil stearin isbleached at a temperature above 95° C.
 10. A The process according toclaim 1, wherein the palm oil stearin has an iodine value of from about8 to about
 10. 11. A The process according to claim 1, wherein thecomposition or fraction has a value for the ratio:(100-C54)×[(C48+C50+C52)/(3C48+2C50+C52)] of greater than
 50. 12. A Theprocess as claimed in claim 11, wherein the ratio has a value of from 52to 57.